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CONGRATULATIONS!
You have chosen to carry your baby in a cloth baby carrier. Babies
across the globe are carried by their parents, siblings, and caregivers
as they continue through their daily activities. A practice which ben-
efits both the baby and the wearer as you will see. Before providing
you with step-by-step instructions on how to tie your baby carrier, we
first want to explain why you should carry your baby. Take your time
and read through the manual calmly. You do not have to become an
expert in all the positions presented. Besides, not every baby will like
every position. We present you with a large variety so that you and
your baby can try them out and choose your favorites.
Learning to carry your baby comfortably is like learning to dance. It
takes a little practice before the movements become second nature
and you glide through them with your eyes closed. It is often help-
ful to practice tying the scarf several times before placing your baby
inside. It can also help to talk to your baby and explain what you are
doing while placing him in the carrier. Your baby will sense if you are
uncomfortable. Tell him you are a bit insecure yourself but that you
will learn how to do this together.
You will see, once you have learned to carry your baby, you will won-
der how you ever lived without it. Not only does it make life easier, it
provides sensory and motor development and much more.
Worn up next to you, your baby can participate in your activi-
ties. This interaction with the outside world will enhance his
language and social development.
When using a baby carrier that is adapted to the wearer
as well as the baby, it is possible to carry a child as long
as he wishes. Children who are 2, 3, 4 or even 5 years
old often get tired of walking and will ask to be carried.
Holding a child of this age in your arms can put a lot of
strain on one’s shoulders and back. A baby carrier, how-
ever, will distribute the weight of the child evenly. As a
child progressively gains his independence, he will go
back and forth between wanting to do it all by himself,
and wanting help from others. Contrary to popular be-
lief, meeting his needs and reassuring him will boost his
confidence and make him more independent.
Want to read more about the benefits of carrying your baby?
Here are a few of our favorites.
Granju, Katie Allison
.
Attachment Parenting: Instinctive care for
your baby and young child
.
New York, New York: Pocket Books,
1999.
Heller, Sharon.
The Vital Touch: How Intimate Contact with Your
Baby Leads to Happier, Healthier Development.
New York, New
York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.
Liedloff, Jane.
The Continuum Concept: In search of happiness
lost.
Cambridge, Massachussetts: Perseus Books, 1985.
Sears, W. and Sears, M.
The Attachment Parenting Book.
Bos-
ton, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2001.
Small, Meredith F.
Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and
Culture Shape the Way We Parent.
New York, New York: Double-
day, 2001.
BB•SLEN
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User’s Manual
Please read through carefully before starting!
Babies Yearn for Skin
After nine months of warmth, movement and constant contact with
mother, birth is a huge transition and babies are in need of intimate
contact with their parents. Babies who are carried close to the body,
visibly enjoy this direct physical contact. The cherishing body-to-body
contact fulfils one of baby’s primal and deep needs and offers an
ideal position from which to discover the big wide world.
Safe and Secure
In a simple cloth carrier, your baby feels safe and secure. He feels
your physical warmth and hears your voice and heartbeat. He recog-
nizes your scent and can have permanent eye contact with you.
Babies Cry Less
Research indicates that babies who are carried on a daily basis cry
significantly less. In a cloth carrier your baby is not forced to pas-
sively spend the day. He participates naturally in your daily activities.
Hence, your baby can observe and hear quite a bit, which is benefi-
cial for his psychosocial development. When he has had enough, your
baby simply closes his eyes and falls asleep on your chest.
Stimulates balanced development
In the security of a cloth sling, your baby experiences the world from
a safe position. The huge amount of stimuli he has to deal with in a
brief period of time does not frighten him because he is so close to
you. This feeling of security results in the development of a positive
self-image and later on, it forms the basis of a confident and assured
personality. Contrary to old popular belief, it has become quite clear
that carrying your baby in a cloth carrier does not lead to spoiled and
dependent children, but that the opposite is accomplished.
And the father
During the first few months it is not always easy for a young father to
develop an equally close bond with baby as the mother. However,
with a cloth carrier, he can undertake a lot of things at a very early
stage with the baby safely tucked on his chest.
© copyright Babylonia 2005
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Choose a Position
(and pages references to each individual method)
Getting Started
Tying Methods
Twins
Other Babylonia baby carriers
